Profile of Dan Harrington

Dan Harrington

IntroductionThe infamous Action Dan. Ironically enough this nickname comes from his conservative style. Harrington is a master at the mass tournaments today.

ProfilePoker isn't the only strategic game for Dan Harrington: he used to play backgammon and chess on a high level. He won the 1971 Massachusetts State Chess Championship.

In New York's Mayfair club he met another strong backgammon player,
Erik Seidel, and a fervent chess player called Howard Lederer. The
three of them didn't just play no limit hold 'em together, they also
reviewed their sessions. Therefore it shouldn't come as a surprise that
these three, with their shared interest in strategy games, became part
of the elite of the tournament circuit.

Action Dan is known for his refusal to take big risks. When he made it
to the final table of the 1995 WSOP main event, he tried to make a deal
with the other players: if they would split the money between the 9 of
them they could invest it and al get rich. The other players refused
and every time another player was eliminated he repeated the question.
They kept refusing and in the end Harrington took the $1,000,000 home
without having to share. That same year Harrington won his other
bracelet at the $2,500 no limit hold 'em event.

In 2003 the World Series Of Poker was aired on tv for the first time
with the players' cards visible to the viewer. Despite the record
breaking number of participants (839 players) Dan made it to the final
table. The next year, with a new record of 2,576 players, Harrington
made it to the final table again. This incredible performance didn't go
by unnoticed by the tv audience and made his three books on tournament
hold 'em , Harrington on hold 'em, an instant success.